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SMITH COUNTY – A Tyler man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday after he impersonated a 10-year-old wanting to engage in sexual activity with other online users. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County officials started investigating Jodi Mack Hester of Tyler, in January. An investigator received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, about an immediate risk to a child. The electronic service provider, Tagged.com, reported possible online enticement and provided chat logs to the investigator dated from November 2024 to January 2025.

The Tagged.com user ‘Jodimarie’ claimed to have a 10-year-old daughter he wished to involve in sexual activity. The cyber tip included the users’ subscribing information and sexually explicit photos, identifying the suspect as registered sex offender Jodi Mack Hester of Tyler.
Continue reading Tyler man sentenced for sharing porn, impersonating 10-year-old online

LONGVIEW – A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he killed a pedestrian in February of 2024 while driving drunk in Longview, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

Around 12:52 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2024, Lantez Amide Darensbourg was driving west in the 500 block of West Hope Drive when he hit a pedestrian and a vehicle. The person was taken to a local hospital, where they later died. Darensbourg was arrested after officers determined he was driving while intoxicated.

On Monday, Darensbourg pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

TYLER – One man has been arrested after the Tyler Police Department said he was involved in a crash that injured two pedestrians on Friday night, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

Officers with the Tyler Police responded to a crash reported near Bruck Avenue and W. Front Street at around 9:25 p.m. on Friday. Two pedestrians at the scene were injured by a vehicle and had to be transported to local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.

Tyler PD officers on the scene saw the suspected vehicle leaving the scene and the driver was later pulled over on Chandler Highway. Tyler PD identified the driver as 49-year-old Howard Jessie of Smith County.

Jessie was arrested for a collision involving injury and booked into the Smith County Jail on Friday. He was released on Saturday after posting bond.

QUITMAN– The Quitman ISD community is mourning the loss of one of their teachers who recently died after teaching in the district for 16 years. According to our news partner KETK, Sherrie Callahan died on Sept. 1 at the age of 61 after devoting the past 29 years of her life to teaching. She most recently taught at Quitman High School and has been a member of the district since 2009.

“Deeply loved by our staff and students, her positive attitude, sweet smile and playful personality will be greatly missed,” Quitman ISD said. “The Quitman ISD family mourns this tremendous loss and extends our deepest sympathies to Mrs. Callahan’s family and friends during this time. We ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”

A celebration of life was held for Callahan on Sunday at the Chapel in the Woods Church in Winnsboro.

SMITH COUNTY– The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is searching for those responsible for vandalizing a marble statue of Jesus at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Flint. Members of the sheriff’s office arrived at the scene at around 8:45 a.m. on Sunday and discovered that suspects had vandalized the face and hands of the statue, which is located at the front of the church.

According to our news partners KETK, officials were able to obtain video footage of the incident. The video displayed the suspect, a white man wearing a black shirt and black shorts, shattering the hands, wrists and part of the face of the statue. After damaging the statue, the suspect was reportedly seen walking south towards County Road 1299.

The sheriff’s office stated the statue cost around $10,500 to construct. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Smith County Sheriff’s Office at 903-566-6600.

NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two people who allegedly dumped suspected meth and cocaine out of their vehicle during a pursuit.

According to our news partner KETK, on Aug. 29 deputies from the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were pulling over a Hyundai passenger vehicle they were investigating in the 5000 block of US Highway 59 south. The sheriff’s office stated that the driver failed to stop in a timely manner, which initiated a pursuit. Video shared by the sheriff’s office shows what officials claimed to be powdered cocaine and meth being poured out of the Hyundai during the pursuit.

The pursuit ended when the vehicle stopped and the two people inside were arrested. The Hyundai was searched and officials said narcotics and a firearm were found inside the vehicle. Continue reading Two arrested for dumping drugs during pursuit

CROCKETT – The Crockett Police Department is searching for a man who’s wanted in connection with an attempted armed robbery that occurred on Aug. 30.

According to our news partners KETK, officers responded to a call about an attempted armed robbery in the 200 block of East Goliad Avenue on Aug. 30 around 9:30 a.m. The victim told officers that a man approached her with a knife and attempted to rob her. More officers were then sent out to the scene to search for the man. Their ground and air searches were unsuccessful. Crockett PD then interviewed nearby witnesses and searched for available security camera footage from the area.

The victim described the man as a 6-foot-4-inch white man with dark shaggy hair, green eyes, a light scruffy beard. Continue reading Police search for Crockett armed robbery suspect

TYLER – An East Texas marketer is one of seven individuals who have agreed to pay a portion of a $1,459,620 settlement to resolve allegations of paying kickbacks to doctors, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

The U.S. has recently taken over civil lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act in the cases of doctors, executives and marketers who allegedly engaged in illegal payments to doctors for laboratory referrals, which were disguised as managed service organization (MSO) investments.

“The Department of Justice will continue to pursue and prioritize healthcare fraud, including redressing illegal kickbacks,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said. “Kickbacks to doctors can undermine medical decision-making, subject patients to wasteful medical treatments and squander taxpayer money.” Continue reading Tyler man to pay part of healthcare fraud settlement

AUSTIN – The Houston Chronicle reports the Texas Senate voted against delaying a controversial East Texas groundwater export project on the same day the company behind it hired one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top advisors as a lobbyist. Conservation Equity Management, a company affiliated with Dallas investor Kyle Bass, hired Allen Blakemore on Tuesday, the same day the legislation hit the Senate floor, according to lobbying records filed at the Texas Ethics Commission. Blakemore is Patrick’s political consultant and has also worked on the campaigns of several Republican senators. The Senate, which Patrick oversees, ultimately agreed to back a state-led study of the company’s proposal to pump huge amounts of groundwater out from under Anderson and Henderson counties. But it stripped a provision that would have put the project on hold until the findings came out in 2027. Continue reading Lobbyist hired to delay water grab bill

LUFKIN — Lufkin ISD said on Monday that an unloaded gun was found at their high school, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

The campus went into a “secure,” a safety protocol in which everyone is brought inside, all exterior doors are locked, and the school day continues as usual. Following an investigation, an unloaded firearm was found in a bathroom trash. The school has since resumed regular schedules.

“We want to thank Lufkin ISD Administration and Police Department, as well as the City of Lufkin Police Department, for a swift and professional response in keeping our students and campus safe,” Kaitlin Smith, the communications specialist for Lufkin ISD, said.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Criminal District Attorney Jacob Putman announced this week that he will be running for re-election in 2026. According to our news partner KETK, Putman has served for the past six years, and during his tenure, the district attorney’s office has expanded from 48 to 85 staff members. In 2024, Putman and his office prosecuted over 7,000 criminal cases, including 4,472 misdemeanors and 2,886 felonies.

Due to the number of cases prosecuted in 2024, the attorney’s office was named a Gold Level Agency, the highest award a victim-friendly practice can obtain from the Texas Victim Services Association.

Putman will run in next year’s Republican Primary ahead of the November election.

 

SMITH COUNTY – Smith County Emergency Services District 2 broke ground on its twelfth fire station, Station 76 on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, the new station will provide the unincorporated community of Jamestown with around-the-clock firefighter coverage, quickening response times to fires in the area.

Smith County ESD2 Chief Eric Greaser said Sunday, “We’re just very excited that we’re going to be able to get full time 24/7 coverage by career firefighters that are both trained as firefighters and as EMS professionals, EMTs, advanced EMTs or paramedics that’ll be working out of this facility with all the equipment that they’ll need to save lives.”

Once firefighters start working at Station 76, ESD2 will have 24/7 coverage of Smith County with 10 engine companies and three tender crews.

TYLER – The close of the second special session on Wednesday evening led to a disappointing end for House Bill 27, which would’ve required a study of new water drilling in East Texas. According to our news partner KETK, HB27 would’ve required the Texas Water Development Board to conduct a study on the effects of drilling permits on the Neches and Trinity Valley Groundwater District. HB 27 also pushed for lawmakers to allow a 16-month pause on approving drilling permits during the TWDB study. This leaves East Texans concerned about controversial groundwater drilling in the Neches and Trinity Valley area feeling let down, but not without hope. East Texas lawmakers are vowing to continue the fight.
Continue reading East Texas representatives, give reactions to failure of water bill